DUST OVER THE RUINS

The second Ashton title under the Macmillan imprint, Hornet's Nest having brought her even more sales than her best book (in our opinion) Dr. Serecold. This can be counted on, with her past record, for substantial sales, but the book seems to us a bit ponderous, lacking the warm human interest of most of her work, on the one hand, and the lighter touch of Family Cruise on the other. The story is that of an archeological venture, and of how a woman, an emotional sadist, almost wrecked the work of the expedition.